Harbor Branch research shows more strides toward possible anti-cancer drugs

Jayme Sellards - 

Scientists at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute search for treasure at the bottom of the sea, but it isn't sunken Spanish gold they're after. They seek something far more valuable – anti-cancer drugs.

New research published by Harbor Branch in the upcoming issue of Angewandte Chemie International Edition, the world's leading chemistry journal, shows how successful their hunt has been. The study reveals that sponges found off the coast of Fort Lauderdale could help to revolutionize cancer treatment.

Many traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy disrupt healthy cells, along with cancer cells. In what represents a promising new lead for possible anti-cancer drugs, an extract from the Leiodermatium sponge collected at a depth of 1,316 feet was found to block cancer cell division in lab experiments. And it did so without significantly affecting healthy cells.

The Angewandt Chemie study comes on the heels of another Harbor Branch breakthrough, which was published one year ago in the leading oncology journal Investigational New Drugs. That study showed that Manzamine A, also a sponge extract, appears to block cancer cell migration. This prevents certain cancers from metastasizing, or spreading to other areas of the body.

"Our program is focused on exploring the chemistry of natural products that are produced by things like marine invertebrates, bacteria and fungi that might have utility in the treatment of diseases, particularly cancer," said Amy Wright, director of the Center for Marine Biomedical and Biotechnology Research at Harbor Branch and a co-author of both studies.

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